Hard as it is to believe, science fiction is cool now. Whether we’re talking about Star Wars, Doctor Who, or the Alien franchise, I’m reminded of something I heard a fantasy author say earlier this year: “We (nerds) won the culture war.” That’s opened up a new horizon for science fiction filmmakers, where it’s much easier to get a big budget and do your imaginative sci-fi film justice. It’s paved the way for new filmmakers like Neill Blomkamp, who want to explore, through science fiction, what qualifies beings as human, and what counts as intelligent life.

As I was originally preparing to write this series of reviews, I had a list of reasons why I believed (and still do believe) that Daredevil is the best comic book-based show on television. These included the spiritual depth of the main character, the tight and cohesive storyline, the avoidance of a soap opera-type love story, and the realistic way the show’s fight scenes are often shot. But more important than almost every item on that list is something that episode four digs a little deeper into: the villain.

In the first two episodes of Daredevil, we were introduced to the world of a blind superhero. With it came the gritty tone of desperation in the world of Hell’s Kitchen, the flavor of a crime drama intermixed with the action of a dark action film. With the third episode, however, things slow down. The gritty action flavor is replaced with courtroom drama, and Matt Murdock’s alter-ego takes a seat on the bench.

Superheroes are supposed to be invincible. They take down the world’s villains, through much pain and turmoil, and they always come out of it in one piece. The truly great pieces of the genre, whether in the original comic book form or through films and TV shows, always come when the writers manage to make us as the audience truly worried that maybe, just maybe, our hero isn’t going to make it out okay after all.

There’s a certain set of expectations that fans have come to expect from Marvel Studios. A fun, lighthearted superhero tale with moments of epic danger and, of course, lots of action. From the very first episode, however, Daredevil breaks all of those expectations.

The science fiction classic Blade Runner is known most immediately for arguably being sci-fi director Ridley Scott’s best film, as well as yet another classic role by Harrison Ford. On the surface, it’s an action movie, albeit with a stunning visual niche, a very particular vision by a very particular director. All of that is true, but there’s something deeper to the film as well. Something that has garnered praise for the film’s thematic elements that would rival even The Matrix in complexity.

Review by Logan The end of the television series is often paradoxically the most depressing and exciting part of the season. Yes, the season is coming to an end, but the end is epic, thrilling, and gives a huge payout for staying with the show. Continue Reading

The last episode of Arrow unleashed a new and bold story for Oliver. Or, should I say, for Al Sah-Him. Oliver Queen is dead, our hero has been saying, and he’s been replaced by the heir to the throne of the demon, the successor for Ra’s al Ghul. As I pointed out in my review of last week’s episode, this was not only a good thing for the show because it was unexpected, but it opened up a whole new era of moral discussions and worldview explorations. It was reminiscent of Harvey Dent’s “You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” and it prompted us to look with introspection at what it would take for us to change and go down that dark path, which surely could never be justified.